New Year
by jarnsaxa
Summary: Roy's Silvester this year starts as a disaster. Good thing he is not alone to get through this. Sequel to "Christmas Fairy". Rating mostly due to Ed's language
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This fic is the sequel to 'Christmas Fairy'. I highly recommend reading Christmas Fairy first.

Okaaayy, took way longer than planned (like, a year ^^°) but at least, it's now the right season again u.u And the fic is mostly finished, so there won´t be huge breaks in between the updates again ^^ Good news, right?

Well, I hope you enjoy the story and don´t mind the absolutely lame title ^^°

**Beta/Co-Author:** Ca11iope :D Thanks again for the amazing work :D

Disclamer: ... this part is always so depressing u.u No, fma is still not mine. There are a few OCs (Jiao Lan and Ze Ren). I don´t mind making no money out of this, it´s still only just for my own personal fun and the fun of everybody who is willing to read this :D

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A New Year, Chapter 1

Despite the icy temperatures, the night was beautiful. No clouds lingered in the clear, dark sky, and the moon was a shining, beautiful sickle. All in all, it was a fair and frosty Silvester night – perfect for celebrating the last few hours of the waning year. Ed was sure he wouldn´t have any trouble picking out a few constellations if he took the time to look up to the stars. However, Edward didn't. He didn´t even pay much attention to the sky.

In front of him, he could see his brother talking to Roy Mustang. And by the look on their faces, neither of them had had any luck. Still, he had to make sure.

"Nothing?" he asked them, watching the white huffs the coldness made of his warm breath. He was panting, having run here to meet the other two alchemists.

"No," Al answered, clearly crestfallen.

The Colonel bit his lip and shook his head as well.

For a moment Ed was tempted to ask him about any possible hideouts his niece might have had. Again. But that would be pointless. They had already checked all the hiding places her Uncle was aware of. Twice. Winry had volunteered to patrol between Jiao Lan's favorite places and hideouts, and Roy's home, just in case the girl turned up there. Also, despite the fact that the girl had been missing for less than twenty-four hours, a few police officers had agreed to look for her when they made their rounds.

"Okay, then we'll meet again in one hour at the bridge in Central Park." Ed said, and looked at Mustang. The man was a mess. He'd been through war and had battled a homunculus single handed, but never had Ed seen worry so clearly marked on the Colonel's face. "We´ll find her." Ed said, trying to comfort the man.

Mustang huffed and failed to smile convincingly. "I´m going to ground her until she´s eighteen. At least," he promised, the attempted joke doing nothing to conceal his emotional state. If anything, it made the situation worse. Edward stared at him, feeling his insides turn into a painful knot. Al did a better job at faking a smile.

"At least she hasn´t run away with a boyfriend, Sir," Alphonse chipped in with his own attempt at lightening the mood.

Roy appeared horrified at the mere prospect of it, and as impassive as the man's face usually was, the word 'pedophile' was clearly written across it now. Ed elbowed his brother. So much for Al being the sensitive one.

"Oh relax, bastard. She´s a child! No way she´s got a boyfriend!" The older Elric grunted out. "She'll be at least sixteen before she even thinks about running off with a man." No, that didn´t help either. Damn, both he and Al sucked at this. Maybe it was time to change the subject. "Okay, back to work. I´ll take the area from Maple Avenue to -"

"You´re coming with me." Roy interrupted. "You've been rubbing your automail leg since you got here, and it´s cold. You can warm up in the car."

Ed looked down at his left hand and quickly let go of his aching port. He hadn´t even noticed he was doing that. Nonetheless, he nodded. It wouldn´t hurt to let Mustang drive him to his new search area.

Once in the car, the first thing Ed did was to reach for the radio transmitting set. The military didn´t have many of them as the equipment was very expensive and needed more general maintenance than a regular soldier could handle, but Kain Fuery had access to a few due to his position as a technician, and had borrowed them to help with the search for his commander's missing niece. No one on the team questioned this 'unprofessional' use of military equipment.

All of Roy's team were out in the city that evening, actively searching for Jiao Lan, but the limited number of transmission sets had forced them to split into search parties. Roy, Ed, Al, and Winry were covering the neighborhoods closest to Roy's home. Al would inform Winry personally of the current status of their search on his way to the next area he would cover. Ed, already annoyed with the mechanics of the transmission set, got to work contacting the people in the other search parties who were in possession of a radio receiver.

He managed to get a status report out of Havoc and Hawkeye without bricking the damn thing. They had not found any trace of the girl. Breda and Armstrong had no good news to report either.

Struggling with the radio to get in touch with Fury and Falman, Edward thought about how, somehow, everything mechanical and technical seemed to thoroughly disagree with him. It wasn't logical, and at first he thought it impossible since inanimate objects couldn't have opinions, but after the twentieth time his automail broke, there was no denying it. Automail limbs were built to withstand a hell of a lot, and Winry's were the best, but even after his life settled into something more normal – read that as less dangerous – Ed still managed to damage his arm or leg on a regular basis. He'd stopped counting how many repairs he'd had at twenty. Winry most likely could give him the exact number, but he suspected that if he ever dared to ask her – and therefore admit that he himself hadn´t bothered counting – she would give him the number by crashing a wrench against his skull for each broken automail set.

Ed shuddered.

"You´re still cold?" Mustangs voice broke his thoughts. The blonde glanced away from the street he was observing, hoping for a glimpse of the bright blue jacket Mustang had claimed was missing from his niece's clothes.

"Huh? No." After having spent so much time out in the cold, the air inside the car felt almost too warm for him. The skin around his automail port was still tingling painfully, but it was far better than it had been. Golden eyes shifted back to the window and the poorly lit street. Really, the moon was doing a better job of spending light than the street lamps.

Reflected in the glass of the window he could see Mustang's grim expression, and without looking away from the streets, he contemplated what to say.

"It´s not your fault, you know," Ed finally said.

The snort came almost instantly and the blond thought he might have read the older man's sullen expression wrong; he´d never been good at reading people, especially not Mustang. But then the man spoke.

"She has a habit of vanishing, but she never goes very far," the Colonel said. "She knows better than to talk to strangers, but she doesn´t know the city very well either. And she wouldn´t be able to defend herself against an adult."

That left Ed silent for a few minutes. Yes, it was true, but… "You don´t have to be so damn…" Logical? Realistic? "… negative. She´s a smart girl. I´m sure she would scream for help or run away if some stranger approached her."

There, that didn´t sound so bad.

Mustang's hands tightened around the steering wheel.

Maybe Roy just wasn't the type of person to place his wager on something as fleeting as hope. Maybe he had seen too much. Too much brutality. Too much cruelty. Too much misery.

Or maybe Roy Mustang was finally, despite all predictions, feeling like a parent. Sick with worry and not quite daring to hope his niece was alright, but still searching desperately. Ed didn't fool himself into believing he could imagine how that felt, but he could easily remember the look on his mother's face, and how she had reacted whenever he and Al returned home after dusk because they forgot the time while reading at the local library. What passed for a library in Resembool did not really deserve it´s name. It had simply been one room with a few books. But like most small town librarians, the owner often traded books with the librarians of other towns and villages in the area, so every so often there was something new to read. Sometimes books from Central´s public library made the rounds of the rural areas, and their librarian made sure Ed and Al had a chance to read them. The proprietor of that little reading room was likely impressed with the young children's hunger for knowledge, and always sent them home with a book or two. Often though, Ed and his brother couldn't wait until they got home to dive into their latest treasure. Sitting on the walkway outside the little storefront, they didn't even notice that the sun had almost set until the darkness made it impossible to see the words – and they still had to walk home.

Grimacing slightly, Ed was sure he would never forget how to do house chores properly. He might not use those particular skills often, but that didn´t mean he would ever forget his mother's chosen form of punishment.

"Why did she run away?" Ed had not yet received anything more than a vague answer to this question, and couldn´t imagine the little Xingese girl wanting to run away from Mustang. Not with the way he saw the man treating both his niece and nephew. Unless… no, Ed was sure that couldn't be the reason. But maybe, to get Mustang's mind away from criminals and pedophiles, Ed decided to ask anyway.

"You didn´t try to cook, did you?" he inquired warily.

Mustang blinked and sent him a quick glance. "What?" If the situation wasn´t so serious, Ed would have marveled at the thought that he managed to make the oh-so-eloquent Roy Mustang sound like a parrot.

"I just can´t imagine why she would run away," Ed explained.

"What does that got to do with my… cooking skills?" The 'non-existent' was almost audible, even though Roy didn't actually say it.

And Ed found himself blushing, maybe this had not been such a good idea after all. "Well, I thought maybe you blew the kitchen up or something," he managed to mutter.

The car stopped and Mustang turned to him. "Are you serious?"

Ed didn´t know how to answer that. Maybe trying to keep Mustang from freaking out with this kind of distraction had not been such a good idea. So he took another approach. "Why won´t you just tell me why she left? Then I won't have to rely on outrageous theories." Ed defended himself.

Mustang frowned disapproving at the words. For a moment, the blond felt like a child again. When he had first received his State certification and came under Mustang's command, when he had received a lecture or scolding for destroying yet another building that frown had gotten to him. In the beginning at least, the Fullmetal Alchemist did have some kind of respect for Mustang as a superior and authority figure. It crumbled pretty fast however, as the teen did not really care about anything besides the philosopher's stone. He still respected Mustang as a very capable fire alchemist of course, but as his commanding officer? Duh, definitely not. Mustang could shove his rank up his own ass and Ed wouldn´t have cared less.

However, the fact that the Colonel tried to pull the – clearly unsuccessful - superior card with Ed was enough of a clue to how the older man's mind was working. And the younger alchemist hadn´t realized it earlier, but this was actually the second clue. While he was not as brilliant as Mustang when it came to reading people and estimating their behavior, Ed had known Mustang long enough to finally stumble on the fact that the Colonel tried to keep his balance in times of stress by fleeing into what he knew best. First, he had used rather depressing objective facts, and now he was pulling the military officer card. As shitty as it was, it probably helped the Flame Alchemist to handle this stressful situation.

The 'rational' theory was absolutely negative, but facts were something Mustang dealt with far better than emotion, no matter how depressing his logic may be.

And if he had to choose between dealing with a situation as an uncle and possible future parent, or as a military officer – somehow it was not surprising Mustang preferred the latter. It was the job he knew better.

Unfortunately for the Colonel, he was dealing with a person who was absolutely unimpressed with… well, pretty much anything related to the military.

"Well?" Ed lifted one eyebrow, still waiting for an answer to his question.

Roy stared a few more seconds and then let out the same sigh he always did when dealing with the Fullmetal Alchemist and his stubbornness.

"She was insisting that you had to be there for the countdown to New Year." The Colonel finally admitted.

Ed blinked. "Huh?"

He had only seen the girl, what? Two times? Fine, they were getting along and he had greatly enjoyed those two times - well, except for the few embarrassing situations, but he blamed the Colonel for most of them anyway. And yes, he had promised to come over again and do his part to preventing food poising. But that had been shortly before Christmas, not that long ago.

Beside him, Mustang bit his lip and continued.

"I told her we would have to wait until the next year to invite you over, as you mentioned you wanted to spend Silvester with your brother and Miss Rockbell. But she didn´t want to listen." A faint bit of frustration crept into the smooth voice, but Ed couldn´t tell if it was over the fact that this search had ruined all of their holiday plans, or over the trouble he was having, dealing with a stubborn child. Probably both.

"Let me guess, you cut off the argument by telling her she couldn´t always get what she wanted and left it at that," Edward assumed. He knew this from experience. Mustang was far too used to have his orders obeyed. The Colonel was a master of words and could argue any position with a quick-wittedness even the Fullmetal Alchemist had trouble dealing with. The older man could be incredibly persuasive.

Unless his opponent was totally immune to any form of adult logic.

"She insisted that for the New Year to begin as it should, you would have to be there. Something about luck." The Colonel shrugged irritated. Children certainly had their own way of thinking.

"First a fairy, now a lucky charm. Great." Ed muttered. "So she ran away because…"

"She wanted to find you on her own and bring you over," Roy finished for him.

"Huh." Ed hummed, not quite able to suppress the sarcasm. "What? You're surprised that your patented lecture on how hard life can be and how she should just deal with it didn´t work?"

He received a sour look in return.

**Tbc.**

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Yes, it is short ^^° It just works this way, so it´s short. Short chapters come faster XD Next chapter will most likely be out next weekend ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I forgot to mention it last chapter, but 'Silvester' is actually celebrated here in Europe ^^ it´s the 31. December :D

Merry Christmas to all of you ^^

**Beta&Co-Author:** Ca11iope ^^ Thank you, honey :D

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Chapter 2

Ed hadn´t even made it halfway down the block when abruptly, Mustang's car stopped beside him. The man leaned over the passenger's seat and waved for him to get in.

Opening the door, the first thing Edward heard was the Colonel's tense voice.

"They found her."

The note of great relief in the Colonel's voice dropped the heavy stone of worry and from Ed's shoulders. Jiao Lan had to be alright for Mustang to sound so relieved.

Ed let himself fall onto the seat and didn´t even manage to close the door before the man beside him pulled away from the curb.

"Two patrolmen found her," Roy informed him. "She seems to be fine, but they couldn´t say for sure."

"They couldn´t say for sure?" the blond echoed, wondering over that statement. Then he noticed the tiny smile on Mustang's face and instantly felt himself relax.

"You´ll see." Mustang stopped at a red light and sent a glance towards his passenger. "Inform the others that Jiao Lan has been found, she's alright, and that we will meet them in Southern Park for the midnight fireworks display." After a short pause and a look at the car's dashboard, he added, "With a bit of luck, we´ll make it before midnight."

Ed checked his watch to note that it was just over an hour before midnight. Which was good, because it would give the others time to get to the park, including Gracia and the two children she was currently taking care of: her own daughter and Roy's nephew ZeRen.

And once the car pulled up by a flashlight waving policewoman, Edward discovered that it was a good thing for another reason. The young patrolwoman led the two alchemists down a short alley where her partner stood tense with his hands on his hips.

"Come on, girl. I don´t have all fucking night to wait for a brat like you to-"

Edward was amazed at Mustang's ability to clear his throat in a way that sounded both casual and disapproving. The police officer gave out a small 'eep' and turned around. The next moment his face turned rather white.

"Colonel Mustang. We… uh..found your niece." The startled officer pointed towards a dark corner in the alley. Ed could faintly make out the opening of a ventilation shaft.

Mustang's eyebrow rose up and Ed had to place himself in line behind the woman, obviously a rookie, when it came to hiding mischievous amusement. But damn, it was nice to see someone else in trouble with Colonel Mustang for a change.

"So I´ve heard," Mustang stated flatly."I was not aware that insults and inappropriate language were part of the protocol for dealing with children. Perhaps I should have a word with your chief."

The policeman tried his best to become invisible and managed to squeak out a weak"It´s not, Sir."Before taking off his hat and running his fingers through slicked back dark hair.

Mustang simply stared down at him. The man began to shift uncomfortable on his feet and nervously play with his hat. With no little amusement Ed saw the material getting smudged with hair oil as he did so, but the officer himself didn´t notice as he stuttered, "U-uhm… my a-apologies, S-sir."

"Uncle Roy!" An excited voice came out from the air duct, but not the speaker.

Releasing the man from his stare, the Colonel turned towards the dark corner and looked up into the shaft.

"JiaoLan!"

This time, Ed couldn´t manage to hide his chuckle. It figured that Roy Mustang would have mastered the parental 'you-are-so-doomed' tone of voice rather quickly.

"What are you doing up there?"Mustang's irritation was obvious and it must have been clear to the girl that her uncle was angry.

She was not impressed."I´m hiding," she stated the obvious.

Mustang sighed and started massaging his temples.

"Is that a grey hair I see?" Ed felt inclined to point out.

The completely dark haired man sent a glare his way, but didn´t grace him with an answer. Instead, he turned back to the task of attempting to pry information from his niece piece by piece.

"From what are you hiding?" Roy asked, obviously trying to not lose his patience.

"The man."

Carefully, the female officer stepped farther away from Roy. It showed that unlike her partner, the woman was in possession of a brain. Because even not knowing just who the man in front of them was, only a fool wouldn't know to run away once they caught the expression on his face.

That was, everyone except for that male officer, who only frowned, and Ed, who was sure Mustang would not blow up the entire city block with his niece so close by.

"Uhm… Sir, she… uhm…. ran away from me," the policeman in front of them admitted.

Ed felt like groaning. That much stupidity had to hurt, so why was the guy not screaming in agony? Huh. Maybe he didn't have the brain capacity to register pain either. That had to be it. Edward didn't usually judge people so harshly, stupid or not. But under the circumstances it felt damn good. And at least Ed wasn't taking his frustration over the little girl's disappearance out on other people. Unlike a certain Flame Alchemist.

The Colonel's eyesnarrowed."You´re a police officer; why would she do that?"he asked. Mustang's tone was carefully calm, but Ed tensed. Uh oh.

The policewoman made a brave attempt to preventVolcano Mustang from erupting."Sir, my partner is not very skilled with children."

"Really? I never would have guessed."

Ed knew that Mustang expressed himself exceptional well through his tone of voice, having been treated to many bouts of verbal sparring in the past. But right now, even Ed was amazed at how the man's voice dripped sarcasm yet still remained dry at the same time.

When the Colonel received no response from the policewoman - probably her wisest choice- he turned around and shouted "JiaoLan, come down here, this instant!" in the original, purely parental 'you are in trouble, young lady'- tone of voice.

Still weird. But better this time. Ed was slowly getting used to it.

"But-"

"No buts! Come down!" the Colonel ordered. This time the order sounded more no-nonsense military. Beside him, the two police officers stood stiffly, clearly unsure if they should witness this. The woman was fiddling with the hem of her jacket, while her partner shifted his weight from one food to the other.

A small sob was heard from the ventilation shaft.

All the adults froze instantly.

"I´m stuck!" The girl's voice trembled.

* * *

"Don´t start this now." The Colonel hissed at Ed. "You are the only one here who's small enough to fit into the duct."

"I'M NOT SM-"

"Fairy!"JiaoLan's joyful cry interrupted the beginning tantrum once she finally recognized Ed's voice. It certainly had been loud enough.

Instantly, the idiot of the two police officers just had to ask, "Fairy?" with a grin on his face that was quickly wiped off by glares from both Edward and Roy, though Ed wasn't sure why Mustang didn't take the opportunity to spread that particular nickname around.

With midnight less than an hour away, the policewoman likely decided that she wanted to live to see the new year. "You seem to have the situation well in hand, Sir," she said to Mustang. "If you don't mind, I think my partner and I should return to our patrol route."

The Colonel turned his attention to the two police officers. "Not at all. Thank you for your assistance, officer."

"Our pleasure, Sir," the woman returned with a smile. "Oh, and before I forget, our Chief asked that we deliver a message. He said to tell you that he agrees." With that, the policewoman quickly bid the two alchemists a goodnight as she dragged her dense partner away.

What did that mean? Ed looked his question to Mustang with a suspicious stare.

The only answer Ed got was a muttered, "I`ll explain later." Then the man looked down at the blond and said, very carefully, "but I´m serious about you being the only one able to follow her."

Ed glared. At least Mustang had avoided using any _incorrect_ references to anyone's lack of height this time.

"I could just use alchemy and get her out,"Ed insisted.

"Yes, and perhaps scare her for life. She´s not accustomed to alchemy yet," Mustang grumbled back. "And you can´t even see inside the - Yes, I know that wouldn't an issue, and I know you are a professional," the Colonel interrupted himself when Ed opened his mouth to protest. "But that doesn´t change the fact that she´s not used to alchemy."

Ed frowned, wondering how the girl could not be used to alchemy when she was part of the Flame Alchemist´s family. And further, he remembered that Roy had made no objections when Ed had offered to transmute something for the girl back at the Christmas market.

Catching Ed's frown, Mustang went for distraction. Heput on a smirk and added, "And since we don´t want to strengthen her belief that you are a fairy and capable of magic…"

"Oh, fine!" Ed huffed.

He went over to the wall, kicking aside the boxes that the girl must have used to climb up to the duct. Mustang didn´t ask why he did so, since it was obvious that even without the automail, they wouldn´t hold Ed's weight. They were dented from Jiao Lan's climb, and while it could be argued that Ed was as small as the child, Ed did possess some very well builtmuscle massthat added to his weight.

"Get over here, you lazy Bastard," the blond muttered, quietly enough so JiaoLan wouldn´t hear. "I can´t reach the damn thing."Seeing the way Roy bit his lip to keep himself from saying something he probably would regret, the younger alchemist narrowed his eyes. "Not one word," he positively hissed.

It took all Roy's self control to not laugh. That was, until Ed used his hands, shoulder, and head as a ladder. Then he tried to not grunt in pain. Good lord, the boy was rude."You could try not to dislocate my shoulder," he grumbled.

The only reply he got was just as grumbly as his own words."You could have let me transmute a ladder." Reaching for the vent, Ed heaved himself up and looked down at the Colonel. "You have some explaining to do," he informed him, and it was not a request.

Grimacing slightly, the Colonel nodded, then watched Edward slip into the narrow opening. Funny, everyone noticed Ed was short, but no one considered his build. The young alchemist's shoulders were broad, and even though his body was not of average height, the duct looked to be an uncomfortably tight fit. And he would have to get out there backwards.

Damn, now Roy owed the man even more, after the cooking lessons, and dragging him out on Silvester night.

Looking at his watch, Roy sighed. If Ed managed to get his niece out quickly, they might have half an hour left to celebrate the end of the year.

* * *

"Okay, princess." Ed muttered, hating the almost total darkness he was crawling through. Seriously, vents needed some light. No one ever thought about the people who had to crawl through these things. "Where are you?" he questioned.

She couldn´t have gone far into the vent or else she wouldn´t have heard them speaking almost lost his balance when suddenly there was nothing below his hand.

"Hello?" The girl's frightened voice called from below. That explained how she'd gotten stuck. The child had likely fallen into a lower part of the duct.

"Hey there, little one," Ed greeted the girl, and instantly heard her calling his name.

"Ed!"

Great, _now_ she called him Ed. Why couldn't she have done that a few minutes ago, when Mustang and the police could hear her, instead of calling him .

He managed not to sigh in resignation. Thankfully his eyes were slowly getting used to the darkness and he could see a few outlines. And immediately he became grateful that the girl hadn´t fallen very far. The blond didn´t want to imagine the injuries such a fragile child might suffer. As it was, he couldpull her out of there if she reached up for his hand. Ed shifted closer to the edge until he could stretch a hand down into the shaft.

"Come on, let´s get you out of there," he offered. Jiao Lan did not reach for his hand."Lan?" No way he wasstruggling to use her full name when he had permission to shorten it like this.

A moment of silence and then he could hear her guilty sniffing.

"How mad is uncle at me?" she asked, and Ed felt like facepalming himself.

"Uhm…" Now, what to say? "He`s more worried." It was an honest answer.

A sob answered him. The alchemist tried not to groan. Okay, honesty had probably not been the right approach. Even though logically the little girl deserved to feel guilty for what she had done, Ed had no desire to see her cry, and felt bad for it.

"Hush, princess. I´m sure he will be glad when you´re back with him again." Now, that sounded better. And thankfully, the sobbing stopped.

"He won´t send me to auntie and granny?" the shaken voice sounded hopeful.

There were even more Mustangs? Oh great.

Looking down at the girl, he couldn´t help but feel curious. The way Roy's niece absolutely did not want to be sent to her relatives didn´t say very good things about their character, and Ed remembered Roy saying he planned to adopt the children. Ed couldn´t imagining the Colonel allowing his niece and nephew to go live with some clearly unfit relative because of this incident, so Edward could be as sincere as he wanted with his answer.

"I´m sure he won't." When he heard a relieved sigh from below, he waved his hand in her direction. "Now come on, we don´t have much time 'till midnight, and you don´t want to miss the fireworks, do you?"

* * *

There were no words to describe the relief Roy felt when he saw Ed crawl out of the vent followed by his niece. The girl had dirt on her hands and knees and her pigtails were sloppy, but she appeared uninjured. When Ed jumped down, she followed him without hesitation, letting herself be caught by her uncle, who immediately hugged her close.

She smelled of metal andstale air but hell if he minded. Through her silent crying he could hear her apologize over and over in Xingese when it became clear to her just how worried her uncle had been.

"You are in so much trouble," he said softly, but wouldn´t let go of her.

The girl in his arms hiccupped and then struggled to look at Ed."You said he wouldn't be mad," she accused. "Fairies shouldn´t lie!"

Ed, watching the scene with mixed feelings, smiled. "No, I said he´d been worried and would be glad to have you back," he corrected. "I didn´t say he wouldn´t be mad as well."

The girl pouted and Mustang couldn´t help a small laugh at the sight. She was pouting. She was fine.

"Going into politics, Ed?" the Colonel teased, trying to get his emotions in check.

The young man grimaced instantly."Fu-" Quickly, he cleared his throat. "Absolutely not! There are too many bastards and a-" Mustang's glare dared him to say 'assholes' in front of his underage niece."-a…and we should go or else we won´t make it to the park in time."

Checking his watch, the Colonel bit down a curse.

Now they really needed to hurry.

* * *

In the car, the girl sat on Ed's lap while the Colonel drove. Refusing to let her out of his sight, he had finally agreed to Edward sharing the passenger seat with his niece. Having forgiven him for the almost-lie, the child cuddled into Edward's arm just the way she had done at the Christmas market. Slightly resigned over the fact that he was apparently incapable of staying mad at the little devil, Ed observed the streets passing by the window.

Of course they had trouble finding a parking space near the park, but Mustang didn´t seem to give a shit about parking tickets at the moment. He wanted to be with both his young relatives when the new year started, and if that meant parking right beside a 'no parking' sign, so be it. Not wanting to point that particular misbehavior out in front of the girl and not willing to miss the countdown with his friends and family either, Ed said nothing. It wasn't like Mustang couldn´t afford to pay the ticket.

Then he had to bite his lip at the practiced way Mustang managed to run while balancing an excited child in his arms. Definitely not the first time the man has done that.

Keeping an eye out for the rest of the team along with his brother and Winry, Ed cursed the crowd of freakishly tall people blocking his view. He came to a sudden stop when they were spotted first. The shouted "Brother!" came from the left and both Mustang and Ed turned in that direction to see the group of people waiting for them.

ZeRen struggled out of Gracia's armsand ran to his sister and uncle.

"Uncle Roy!" he called out and lifted his arms towards the man.

This time Ed couldn´t hold back the chuckle when Roy Mustang was perfectly fine balancing his niece on his hip as he bent to pick up his nephew as well.

And he could see by the strange expressions on the other teammember's faces the various degrees of being-used-to-parental-Roy. It was kind of funny.

Soon enough however, the girl stretched her arms out towards Ed, and he moved to take her. He did not do it because keeping both kids in his arms at once had to be uncomfortablefor Roy. He did it just because the little girlwas pleading with the biggest, deepest dark eyes Ed had ever seen. When he took the very willing Jiao Lanfrom Roy and carried her over to join their gathered friends, he notice that the looks on the faces of his colleagues, his brother's and Winry's as well, had become even stranger. Some jaws wereslightly slack and someone, he couldn´t quite pindown who, let out a strangled sound.

Ed blinked irritated and looked at them.

"What?"

Havoc let out a cough, having stopped breathing for a moment, unfortunately after inhaling smoke from his cigarette.

No one felt obliged to answer that question. Without turning around, Ed was aware of Mustang stepping closer.

Before the silence became awkward, Hawkeye greeted the Colonel and Edward and added a quick, "You´re right on time, the countdown should start soon." She smiled. "New year is close."

"Let´s hope it´s a good one." Havoc grumbled beside her, then eyed the Colonel, who still carried a child on his arm, before grinning a bit. "I think it will be."

"Don´t get your hopes up, Havoc. Women like men who are good with children." Breda pointed out, and Havoc sighed, then eyed the children speculatively.

"Don´t even think about it!" the Colonel instantly growled protectively, which prompted a few chuckles.

"Yeah, and I´m sure people would _totally_ believe that you are their father." Breda pointed out, referring to the obvious Xiangese heritage rivaling Havoc's blond hair and blue eyes. The Lieutenant sighed and muttered something incoherent.

"You should have made arrangements with Fullmetal to take on that role when he was twelve… well, maybe you still can try it. He´s short enough to pass for a child." Mustang suggested, not able to resist getting that particular jab in.

Instantly, Ed's face went red with anger and one could almost see the urge to kill rise within the blond."He wasn´t old enough to pass as a father back then," Ed snarled, "You however could have passed for a grandfa-"

Sensing the approaching war between the two, Gracia quickly interrupted with a soft voice.

"I´m sure you don´t want to fight through the countdown, boys!" she scolded, and her daughter giggled when she recognized her mother's tone as one she used to scold small children. "Let´s be nice."

In Ed's arm, Jiao Lan nodded enthusiastically. "Do I get kisses?" she asked, clearly hopeful, even when her brother let out a disgusted "Ewww!"

"Kisses?" Breda echoed and was promptly lectured by Falman.

"It´s traditional to kiss people on New Year to ensure a good relationship through the year," the ever helpful man explained.

"How can you not know that?"Havoc added with a scowl.

"Not everyone looks for any excuse to get a kiss." The redhead shot back, and the friendly bickering started.

Until it was interrupted by a high voice."Do I get kisses?" The girl repeated and looked at her uncle with big eyes. "Pretty please?"

It wasn't particularly strange to see the women "Awwww"ing over a child, except that one of them was Hawkeye.

"Of course you do, sweetheart!" Gracia quickly assured the girl.

"Yeah, course you do," Havoc added. "And in a few years, when you´re a very pretty woman, you'll get even more - just kidding!" he squeaked when he noticed the look on Roy's face.

"I won´t be a pretty woman?" Jiao Lan asked, already looking crestfallen.

Ed groaned. Of course she had to pick that part as Havoc's retraction.

"I´m sure you will be more than pretty, you´ll be a very beautiful woman!" Thank god for WinryRockbell and her talent with children. Seeing the way Eliciahad adopted her as her bigger sister, it was no surprise Jiao Lan now looked up to her.

And talking about Elicia... "And me?" was instantly heard, and both Winry and her mother quickly assured her that yes, she surely would become a beautiful woman as well.

"It's the new year," Jiao Lan stated with great authority. "Tonight everyone will get kisses!"

Fuery observed all the women blushing furiously. Then he looked at thegathered men and blushed even further.

"Something wrong, SargeantFuery?" Falman, who had noticedthe strange behavior, asked the second youngest member of the team.

One look at Mustang and Ed was sure the man knew what was going on. Roy appeared completely innocent – except for the amused little twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"Uhm…" Fuery looked down at the floor and finally the rest of the team noticed his discomfort, because the poor man quickly became the center of attention. "Do we have to…" he gestured to himself, then to the women, and then the men beside him, "… you know."

Al blinked.

Havoc blinked.

Breda blinked.

Even Vato blinked. Wow, Ed was pretty sure it was the first time he saw that happen.

Then the men looked at each other and collective an "Uhm…." was heard while the woman appeared incredibly amused. The men looked to the little girl, who stared back at them, expectantly. Then they looked to the girl's uncle, the famous Flame Alchemist and their superior officer. One dark eyebrow lifted, clearly telling them they better not dare to make a scene over this.

Ed couldn´t help but feel entertained as well. Until it dawned on him that Mustang was present. And he himself as well. He looked to the girl in his arms, who still stared at the military men, then to Mustang.

To quote the rest: "Uhm…"

"Of course you do!" Jiao Lan insisted. "You need to, 'cause you need to be good friends next year!"

Breda and Havoc eyed each other horrified before the blond of the two looked at Mustang, and then appeared even more grossed out. Huh, nothing like having to be affectionate with your boss who steals all your girlfriends.

"Stop acting like babies, no one said it had to be lover's kiss. A simple kiss on the cheek will do," Hawkeye scolded the men.

Fuery blushed even further to a degree that didn´t appear very healthy. He desperately tried his best to look into no one's face. It was so much of a giveaway that even Ed couldn´t help but pity the man.

"Uhm… Kain…" Havoc started. "Are you by any chance… you know… kind of…"

"Kind of? How can you be kind of bisex-" Breda asked.

"Widely interested?" Roy interrupted, with a glare towards Heymans who guiltily noticed the children present.

The pitiful black haired technician probably wished to be anywhere else right now. "Could we change the subject … please?" he begged.

Havoc snickered and Ed couldn´t help but grin as well. The man was so in trouble and everyone, including Fuery himself, knew it. There was no way anyone would let him live this at his brother and Winry, he could see the mischief in their eyes as well, and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud. Oh yes, definitely in for trouble. On the surface Al didn't look like the pranking type, but Ed knew better, and it was more than clear that Winry would join in the fun as well. KainFuery had no idea what was in store for him in the new year, though the technician had likely never been as grateful for a countdown to start as he was today, because at just that moment the people around them started to count down from ten.

The little group of friends and family joined the counting, some people loud, some more reserved. The little girl in Edward's arms excitedly shouted the numbers, while next to them Roy and his nephew counted more quietly.

As the shouted numbers grew smaller, Ed felt himself become affected by the anticipation around him. He could feel the girl in his arms bounce slightly when they reached the last five number and just like that, it was–

"Three… two… one!"

And the next moment, the girl in his embrace wrapped her little arms around his neck and pressed a kiss on his cheek. Instinctively, he returned it, not wanting to disappoint her.

"Happy New Year, Ed."Gracia stepped closer and gave him a peck on the cheek, then took Jiao Lan from his arms to give the girl a kiss as well.

He could feel Elicia tugging on his arm and bent down so she could kiss his cheek too.

When he straightened up he received and returned wishes from both his brother and Winry. Kissing Winryand Al on the cheek felt far more natural. They were his siblings after all, even if only one of them was so by blood.

Turning around, he found himself face to face with Mustang.

"Uhm…" One look to the side and he could see Breda, Falman and Havoc trying to awkwardly form a line to get kisses from the women without making it too obvious that they would prefer not to get one from the other males. Fuery was once again blushing furiously as Hawkeye gave him her new year best wishes, including a kiss on the cheek. He thanked her and quickly turned his attention to the youngest girls, obviously believing himself to be saved from further embarrassmentthat way.

With everyone else otherwise occupied, there was no escaping it. Ed turned back to Mustang and for a moment didn´t know what to do. Why the hell did this feel different from kissing Gracia, Al, or Winry? But excitement was prickling like little butterflies in his stomach and he could feel the heat rising to his cheeks when Royleaned down.

He could feel the man's warmth,and without a conscious thought his eyelids drifted shut as the man moved closer. Roy's skin felt smooth against his cheek, his lips warm and soft as they pressed a light kiss there, just a few inches away from his mouth.

He didn´t return it. He couldn´t help it. He just kept his eyes closed and enjoyed the warm skin against his, breathed in the scent he liked so much, and sighed in contentment.A simple kiss on the cheek was usually short and sweet, but time seemed to slow, and when Ed felt Mustang drawing away he placed a hand on the man's neck, not willing to let him go. The other man's warm breath brushed his cheek as Mustang drew away despite the gently restraining hand, and Ed knew those lips would vanish soon and this would be over.

Except they didn't. Instead, Edward felt the pressure return, another short kiss being placed on his face, closer to his mouth, then another, even closer. Turning his head the slightest bit to meet him felt simple and natural.

And so_good_.

Ed felt as if his knees might melt at any moment and leaned in. Lips moved against his, a slight pressure, barely there. Soft and light, not what he expected from Mustang, but his stomach was on a rollercoaster nonetheless.

The kiss was short and gone almost as soon as it started. But just as fast as one kiss ended, the next one started. And another another. He couldn´t stop this. Didn´t want to stop this.

And slowly the faint, small kisses became more intense and comfortable, almost lazy. Instead of keeping his hand on Roy's neck, he wrapped his arms around the taller man's shoulders. Ed let out another contented sigh against Roy's lips when he felt the older man's hands on his waist, drawing him closer. The kisses became more demanding, literally taking Edward's breath away.

When it was over, he couldn´t even think. He leant back, without even realizing that he had been standing on his tiptoes, and when had that happened? Ed didn´t loose his embrace, nor did Mustang take away his hands.

Still panting slightly, both of them could do nothing butstand there and look at each other.

**Tbc.**

* * *

^^ I guess this fic just likes short chapters XD I hope you don´t mind?


	3. Chapter 3

**Beta&Co-Author:** Still Ca11iope ^^ And I still love you for it, dear ^^

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Chapter 3

Ed had no idea just how long he had been standing there, looking up, staring at Mustang.

His brain seemed to be in a deadlock. Only one thought kept spinning through his mind.

What the fuck just happened?

There he stood in the middle of a crowded park with fireworks going off all around him, held firm in the arms of Roy – the manipulative and controlling bastard – Mustang, not quite his sworn enemy anymore but still… the Bastard.

Another Silvester celebrant bumped Ed rather rudely, and thankfully it brought him out of his frozen state. Quickly, he let go of Roy and looked down. He found Ze Ren hiding behind him to escape the Ceremony. Ed couldn´t help but wonder why the boy, who was far from being as extroverted as his sister, suddenly decided to hide behind Ed, when it was clear that his most trusted protector was Roy.

Whose attention had been caught up by two little girls.

"I want a New Year's kiss from Uncle Roy too!" Elicia said, looking up at Roy with her father's sparkling green eyes.

Xiao Lan stood behind her, pouting a bit, wanting her uncle's attention as well. Children getting in line for a kiss from Roy Mustang… just what was the world coming to?

One quick glance towards the group of friends and family and Ed felt sudden relief. It appeared that no one had witnessed the new year kiss Roy had treated his young subordinate to. It looked like poor Fuery was being teased for his rather colorful face. The young man appeared ready to pass out, and…

Hold on, his face was way more colorful than it should be from embarrassment alone. Judging by the color of the lipstick, it was obviously Winry's fault. Then Ed noticed just where the lipstick was and felt his own face getting a very amusing expression of its own.

Eyes wide, Ed turned his attention to a mischievous Winry, who was now standing next to Havoc. Both alternated between looking at the sky and at Fuery. Havoc however paid more attention to his teasing friends while the young woman preferred to watch the fireworks. Falman was standing next to a giggling Gracia, and Hawkeye shook her head at the men's childish behavior before turning her attention to the sky as well. Ed could feel Ze Ren shifting from behind his legs, enough to catch a glimpse of the spectacular event in the sky and could hear both Elicia and Jiao Lan gasp in awe at the view presented to them.

Ed didn´t see what had become of Breda, because his eyes next fell on Al. The younger Elric's incredulous expression probably matched that of his brother. Only the younger Elric was not staring at their childhood friend who had just kissed Kain Fuery.

He was staring at Ed.

Edward could feel his face heating up, and he cursed the brightly colored pyrotechnical display that lit up the night.

There was absolutely no doubt that Alphonse witnessed what had just taken place between his older brother and Roy Mustang.

Thankfully, Roy's smooth voice broke the staring match.

"Looks like Fuery is getting quite a bit of attention," he observed, and added, a bit louder, "Gentlemen, I will not be pleased if my communications technician dies of high blood pressure."

That got the attention of the group. Breda made a disappointed sound and Havoc muttered something about life not being fair. Hawkeye's eyebrow arched up, as if she expected that her Colonel had something to add to the festivities, and sure enough, just when Kain appeared unbelievably relieved that his torment was at an end, Roy's amused voice added:

"… simply because he can´t handle getting kissed by a woman."

Predictably, Breda burst out laughing again. Havoc cheered while Fuery winced. Hawkeye sighed, but only Falman felt obliged to complete the sentence.

"… and man," the stoic Warrant Officer stated, and he looked over –

- to Al.

Damn. Brainlocked again.

"You did WHAT?!" Ed asked. He had seen the mischief in his brother's eyes and he had known there was a prank to follow, but this?

He knew Alphonse could be positively wicked – especially when his brother just left him at the Christmas market with a group of drunk women and one pseudo-woman gay mechanic in a tent full of drunken, partying… molesters – but this was just… Ed could feel the distinctive urge to create one of those damn drama scenes women were so fond of just now.

Really, without a body, teenage hormones, and puberty, Alphonse had been a lot nicer. At least towards his brother. Now however, he did his best to provide him with reasons for heart attacks on a regular basis.

Obviously, the younger Elric had planned to shock Ed along with the original 'victim' Kain Fuery. But most likely he had received quite the heavy shock of his own when he looked for his brother's reaction only to find Ed's lips locked to Roy Mustang's.

Talking about karma…

"You´re not in any position to talk, brother." Al lifted his hands in defense.

"Huh, you didn't see what Al just did?" Havoc asked, confused.

"What the hell were you doing to miss it?" Breda asked, exasperated.

Al, while he didn´t say it out loud, clearly send a look that said 'Yes, brother, what the hell were you doing?'

That was not something Ed wanted to explain right now, for the simple reason that he couldn´t even quite believe it himself.

Beside him, Roy cleared his throat.

"I don´t want to interrupt." Like hell he didn´t. And judging by Al's expression, the younger Elric didn´t believe that statement either. However, Roy didn´t even so much as blink or blush at the lie. "But I do believe our reservation at the Pearl Liang is waiting for us." He looked over to the Elric bothers and Winry. "Feel free to join us. The place serves Xingese and western Amestrian food. Three extra guests won't be a problem, as I´ve booked the whole room." After a moment he added, "My treat of course."

Al's was the only voice of protest. "That's not necessary, Sir," he said. "We can cover our own tab."

Ed frowned. He usually gave in to Al's attempts to enforce civilized behavior, but when someone else was about to pay for an expensive meal, he vetoed. Ed felt no desire to refuse free food, and Winry's only, rather faint complaint was that she was clearly underdressed for such an occasion and needed to change first.

"Sir, that´s not what -" Hawkeye started, obviously about to remind him that the team had agreed to go out celebrating, but no one had ever said that Mustang needed to pick up the bill.

Before she could finish, Roy waved her concerns aside, which earned him a scolding glance that almost made him wince. Riza Hawkeye was not a woman who was interrupted, or whose arguments were waved aside.

"It´s the least I can do after all the time and trouble you went through on my niece's behalf," Roy insisted, and Jiao Lan suddenly appeared a lot smaller, a child with large, guilt-ridden eyes staring up at the gathered adults.

Hawkeye gave a disapproving huff, but let the matter rest.

* * *

Edward could feel Al's eyes burning holes into his skull, the younger Elric sitting next to him on the backseat of Havoc's car. The lady had taken the front passenger seat, while Havoc himself sat behind the wheel. Both Al and Winry had insisted Ed come back to their apartment with them to change as well after taking a good look at his clothes. That air vent he had crawled through had not been very clean, and as a result Ed was deemed inappropriate for dining in an upscale establishment. Not that Ed himself had any say in the matter. Winry seemed to take him for a damn infant or something since she hadn't given him a choice. Al had agreed with her that yes, his brother needed to come with them to get something else to wear, and had unceremoniously shoved his older brother into the back seat of Havoc's car, crowding in behind him to prevent escape. Ed knew, without the shadow of a doubt, that Al gave no damn about the way his brother was dressed. Likely the younger Elric had just backed Winry up so he had an excuse to get his brother alone to talk.

Thankfully, due to the distraction Al and Winry had provided when they pulled their prank on Kain Furey, Al was the only one who noticed what Ed and Mustang had been up to at the time, and he had not mentioned it. Yet. The Colonel was currently driving Gracia and the children to her place. Mrs. Hughes didn't plan to join in any further New Year's celebrations. It was simply too late for the children to stay up, and Elicia's mother didn´t mind having Roy's young relatives stay overnight to give the Colonel some time to celebrate with his team.

Havoc drove carefully through the streets filled with happy celebration, complimenting Winry and Al for the prank they had pulled on Fuery, as well as complaining about it. The blond driver wanted to know why Fuery got a kiss from a pretty young woman and he didn't. The offhand compliment to Winry caused her to smile sweetly at him, which went unnoticed – a possible indication why Havoc hadn't received such treatment in quite a while.

"No offense, Al." The Lieutenant said, regarding his only including Winry in his complaints about not getting kissed as well.

"None taken." The younger Elric also smiled, but it was a far cry from the smile Winry had offered. And while neither Winry nor Havoc paid enough attention to notice it, Ed could see that Al's smile was not as easygoing as it should be. Sure, it was honest, but Edward could see that his younger brother had something on his mind. And the older sibling had a fair guess of what that could be.

Ed dreaded the moment they arrived in the flat he shared with Alphonse, and currently with Winry as well. While Paninya and Garfiel had made reservations at one of Central's hotels for their stay, Al and Ed had insisted that Winry should bunk with the Elrics. Their childhood friend was family, and family didn't stay in a hotel when there was plenty of room in their flat. That was their usual arrangement whenever Winry was in town, and they all saw no need to change it. While they didn´t have a guest room, both brothers had insisted on a spare room while searching for a flat. The study became the temporary living quarters of either Ed or Al, while Winry got the 'proper' bedroom during her stay.

And as expected, the moment they entered the flat, the woman dashed into 'her' room.

Ed was immediately under the observation of Alphonse' very piercing gaze. He stared back. It was clear the neither of them knew exactly how to address the matter.

Al finally broke the stalemate. "You kissed Mustang."

Ed almost winced at the disapproval in his brother's voice. But like fuck was he going to let Alphonse chew him out, when the younger Elric himself had not been any better.

"You kissed Fuery," he countered.

His retort was bashed away with a slight gesture. "That was hardly a kiss." Al answered, clearly irritated.

Ed sighed in relief. That clarified things a bit. Al's kiss had probably been nothing more than a peck on the lips. One thing less for Ed to worry about. He so did _not_ want to find out how far Alphonse had made it when it came to acting on that hormone overdose his pubescent body was producing. Al´s track record in giving him heart attacks grew with every passing day. And speaking about heart attacks …

He needed to keep the conversation in this direction as long as he could.

"Yeah, it was a prank." Ed quickly shot back with a disapproving glare. "You´ve developed a really strange sense of humor lately."

Alphonse did some glaring of his own. "You´re making a bigger deal out of it that it really was. And Fuery didn´t exactly protest." Quite the opposite. The darkhaired technician had blushed rather furiously, but didn´t seem to mind the attack other than being teased about it.

"Yeah, like he had a chance to," Ed returned. "The guy's going to be embarrassed for as long as it takes for Havoc and Breda to let him live that one down." Like, never. And under any other circumstances, Ed might even have joined in the teasing. But one, it was his brother who kissed Fuery – and that thought alone was enough to give him the urge to bang his head against a wall – and two, he would squeeze this topic out like a lemon for as long as possible to avoid having to talk about Mustang.

Unfortunately, his brother was not having any of it. Ed could already see the frown appear on Al's face. And not just any frown, no. The one Alphonse reserved for whenever he really put his mind into something. Oh damn, Ed was doomed.

"Probably." Al said slowly, drawing the words out. "But my guess is that it won´t take long for the team to let Fuery off the hook. Not when they have something more… interesting to talk about."

It took Ed a moment to really comprehend.

"Are you… threatening me?" he asked, disbelieving.

Al stared at him. Then blinked. Seeing his brother's face, the younger Elric chuckled. A moment later, he laughed outright.

For a second, Ed wondered if anyone would suspect him of murder if Al's body was never found.

The laugher died when Alphonse noticed the way his brother stared at him. Still chuckling, he shook his head.

"Okay, let´s be serious here." Al suggested, and with a sense of doom Ed nodded. Al finally stopped showing his outright amusement over his brother's misery and his face regained some professionalism.

For the exact amount of time it took for Edward to react to his next question.

"So… is the Colonel a good kisser?"

Gracia Hughes stared down at the teacup in her hands. Moments ago Roy had left the house after a final check on the children. All three of them. He was always considerate that way, realizing that it just wouldn´t be right to tuck his niece and nephew into bed without including Maes' daughter. It made Gracia's heart ache to see the man treat her daughter in a fatherly way. Elicia clearly admired Roy a great deal, and Gracia wondered if her sweet little girl would remember much about her lost father as the years went by, or if Maes Hughes would fade to a few faint memories, a man who would not be there to scare away her admirers and boyfriends, a man wouldn´t be there to watch her grow up, or walk her down the aisle.

She wondered who would.

"Aunty?" Jiao Lan's quiet voice dispelled the quiet and Gracia looked up, automatically banishing all signs of her dark thoughts from her face, just as she did when her daughter was up and about. Young children didn´t need to be burdened with the worries of adults.

"Why aren't you sleeping, sweetheart?" she asked, already used to being called aunty by the girl and her brother.

Jiao Lan looked guilty for a moment at being out of bed, but when Gracia smiled in reassurance and patted the couch beside her, the girl quickly came closer and sat beside her.

"I can´t sleep," the little girl admitted.

Mother instincts taking over, Gracia offered to make some hot chocolate, and the child looked up hopefully. It only took a few minutes for the well practiced woman to provide the promised hot drink and some blankets to snuggle into. Soon enough both of them were settled on the couch, the Xingese child silently drinking the hot chocolate.

"Aunty?" her hesitant voice called out.

It still amazed Gracia how insecure the girl sometimes appeared around older women when she seemed to do just fine with men. If this continued, she would have to speak with Roy about the matter, but right now all she did was send an encouraging smile towards the girl.

"What is it, honey?" she asked when the girl didn´t speak up after a few seconds, but looked rather confused. "Is there something bothering you?"

Jiao Lan nodded slowly.

"Aunty Riza said something I don´t understand," she admitted, and Gracia waited patiently for the girl to continue. "When Uncle Jean, Breda, and Kain acted so strange about the new year's kiss, she said that 'it doesn´t have to be a lover's kiss'" the girl quoted, and then looked up at Gracia. "What did she mean by that?"

Oh boy. The girl had obviously been paying more attention than they thought she was.

Although she had expected her own daughter to ask such questions sooner or later, Gracia was stuck. She had no idea how to answer, since she had no idea how Roy would prefer his niece got her first insight about different, more mature relationships. Well, there was no helping it. Both she and Roy encouraged curiosity, and now she had to acknowledge it.

But of course the girl would get a suitable, age appropriate answer.

"Well," Gracia started and mentally thanked Hawkeye for her relatively harmless choice of words. She shuddered at the thought of how Ed, Havoc, or Breda could have phrased the same concept. After thinking about it for a few seconds, she decided that the best course might be to start on the unfamiliar word itself. "A lover is someone very special." Then, seeing the confused look Jiao Lan sent her way, she added, "I´m not saying friends and family are not special, honey. Each person is in their own way. But a lover is someone you share a very special bond with. Someone you plan to marry one day, and who you want to make happy, and who makes you happy in return. 'Lover' is just an adult name for that person. When it´s a man, he is usually called a 'boyfriend', while a woman is called a 'girlfriend'. And later when lovers are married, they become husband and wife." She did not want the girl running around asking people about their lovers.

She waited for Jiao Lan to contemplate this. Then the girl slowly nodded again, and Gracia dreaded the question she feared was coming next.

Roy's niece did not disappoint and promptly asked, "And a lover's kiss is different? How?"

Knowing how curious the girl could be, Gracia hadn't really expected to satisfy her with easy answers. Still, this was one situation in which Gracia didn´t enjoy being right.

"Uhm…." The woman blushed a bit. No way was she going to explain sexuality to a child this young. She would have to relate it to something the child was familiar with. "When you have someone who´s dear to you, you like to hug them, don´t you?" Looking at the girl, she waited for the nod before she continued. "And you give your friends kisses on the cheek on new year so you will stay good friends. But I´m sure you also like to kiss them when you see them, as a greeting, or when you feel like it, don´t you?"

Again, the girl nodded, then added, "But Ze Ren always says, kisses are 'ew'." She pouted. "He doesn´t like them."

Now the housewife had to bite her lip to not laugh out loud. "I´m sure he likes them too, but just doesn´t want to say so. It´s something boys do sometimes," she assured the girl, who frowned and then shrugged.

"What about a lover's kiss?" Clearly, the child was getting impatient.

"Hush, I´m getting to that." Gracia said when Jiao Lan started to fidget in her seat. "When you have a lover, you _really_ like to kiss them, and you have your own special way to do that." She hesitated for a moment but then decided it wouldn´t hurt to add a bit more of an explanation. "That´s why Uncle Jean and the rest of the men acted so strangely. Because that kind of kiss is only for your special one, so it wouldn´t be right to share it with someone else." No way was Gracia going to explain sexual preferences to Jiao Lan at this age.

Thankfully, the girl´s face lit up in understanding.

"Oh!" she said, and Gracia smiled satisfied.

Until the frown reappeared on Jiao Lan's forehead.

"What kind of kiss is that special kiss?" Roy's niece wanted to know, and Gracia felt the urge make a very un-ladylike noise.

"Well…" She took a deep breath. "When you have a lover, you can also kiss them on the cheek like you do with your friends, but often, you will kiss them on the mouth." Or other places. Not something a child needed to know. The housewife could feel her face heat up again. It really had been quite some time since a man shared her bed. Gracia mentally scolded herself for letting her mind slip into the gutter, and silently watched as the girl next to her thought about what she had said.

"So, you kiss them on the mouth when you feel they are the special one?" Jiao Lan asked again.

Hopefully, Mustang had not been foolish enough to kiss various women in front of his niece. If he had, he was going to regret it dearly. Still, Gracia went for the safe answer.

"Usually, yes. And when you have a partner, you like to kiss them more than just once. You do it again and again," Gracia added in case Roy had in fact been careless in his niece's presence. That hopefully ruled out all thoughts of Mustang's possible flings being 'the special one', though she seriously doubted the man would be careless enough to carry on that way in front of the children. "But it´s not only kisses. You treat a lover differently too, to show them how much you like them."

Gracia was quite certain that the girl was satisfied with this answer, until Jiao Lan piped up with another question.

"So, when you like someone very much and you think they are the special one, you kiss them very often on the mouth."

Gracia was a patient woman, so she nodded and smiled.

"And that's the one who makes you happy, and who you make happy," Jiao Lan concluded. Then the girl looked at Gracia, and there were still questions visible in those dark eyes.

"It´s just one person?" The girl asked. "That special one?"

Now the woman was getting uncomfortable. Her mind ran over all the questions Jiao Lan could ask. Did the girl wonder about Gracia? Why she was alone? What had happened to her husband? Then she mentally scolded herself. That was ridiculous. There was no reason for Jiao Lan to ask this. She knew that Elicia's father was in heaven with Jiao Lan's mommy, so there was no reason for her to link this to the current discussion.

Then another thought dawned on her, but once again, Gracia reminded herself of the situation. Surely Roy would not be foolish enough to bring various lovers over to his house. When they had talked the other day, he unequivocally stated that he had no intention of doing so. Sure, he was an active, healthy man with active, healthy appetites, but as far as Gracia knew, he didn´t act on them in front of the children. He probably visited his lady friends at their own places when his niece and nephew were staying with Gracia. Of course she didn´t know for sure, but the thought hit pretty close to home. Would Roy leave the restaurant this evening with a woman he met there?

"Aunty?"

Jiao Lan's voice brought the lonely woman back to reality, and with a slight pang of guilt she realized that she had no right to question Roy on this matter. The children were not affected by this part of his life, and it was none of Gracia's concern.

"Yes, usually it´s just one person." The smile she offered the girl was a bit forced when she thought about her absent husband, and the years she spent as a single mother. "Sometimes, if you are very lucky, you'll find more than one partner to share in your life. But that doesn´t happen often, since finding someone like that is really, really rare and special." Thinking back, Gracia remembered that fateful day her husband had left for work. The atmosphere had been tense for weeks. Maes had known that what he was doing was dangerous, but he still had left, to do what he had to do. And she had let him go. "So someday, when you meet your special one, make sure you do everything you can to keep them safe, so that they will be with you always," she added.

Maybe it wasn´t completely appropriate to say something like this to a child, but without hesitation Gracia would tell her own daughter the same thing. She couldn´t bear the thought her sweet girl standing in front of grave, another widow with a fatherless child, if saying something now might prevent it.

Jiao Lan looked at her, eyes big and wide at the woman's serious tone. Then she looked down into her half filled mug of lukewarm chocolate, her mind full of what she had seen when she turned from the midnight fireworks toward her uncle.

And Edward.

* * *

They were going to be very late. And Winry's sense of style was the reason.

The flustered automail mechanic just couldn't decide on a satisfactory outfit for their midnight dinner with friends. When Ed urged her to just throw on something comfortable, she'd looked at him like he'd grown a second head, and proceeded to explain that it wasn't every day she got to go out on the town, and she planned to take full advantage of it. She had tried on just about everything she'd brought with her to Central, but wasn't satisfied with her choice of clothes no matter how much her two friends reassured her that she looked fine. Even Al was unable to convince the girl that she looked good, and Ed's opinion definitely didn't count since it was obvious he'd say anything if it meant getting to the restaurant – and the food – as quickly as possible.

As a last resort, Al had gone to fetch Havoc in to offer his opinion of Winry's latest ensemble. Given the Second Lieutenant's track record with women, Ed didn't hold out much hope for their making it to the restaurant anytime soon, but it was worth a shot. Al soon returned with the older blond, and both Ed and Al quickly whispered that whatever he had to say, it had better be _good_.

Winry finally ventured into the living room in her current fashion selection.

It was obvious that Havoc obviously had no idea what to say, so he settled for staring at her. The mechanic arched up an eyebrow, and Ed held his breath.

"Uhm…." was all Havoc had to say. Ed was just calculating exactly how low the probability of their getting fed before _next_ Silvester was, when Havoc added a low whistle. "Wow," the Lieutenant finally got out.

Ed felt like groaning. He could see Al attempting to stifle a similar sound. That had to be the dumbest thing Havoc could possibly have said. At this rate, the sun would be coming up by the time they -

Winry blushed and smiled, pleased. Turning towards the Elrics, she sent them are 'See? That´s how you do it right' look and moved toward the door to pick up her jacket.

Both brothers looked at each other, clearly questioning the woman's mental state.

"_That's_ all she wanted to hear?" Ed hissed quietly. It would have taken him millennia to guess that.

Al shrugged, clearly just as clueless as his older brother, but Havoc chuckled. When he received glares from both the younger men, he quickly lifted his hands defensively.

"Hey, after enough failed dates, you learn what to say and what not to say!" he defended himself.

That actually made sense.

Discussion over. Edward was just grateful that they were finally on their way, and that Winry hadn't brought more clothing with her, not for the lack of trying. Sometimes physics proved to be a very good friend. There was simply no way for a simple suitcase to contain more than its natural capacity.

* * *

The Pearl Liang's atmosphere was comfortable and enjoyable. Leaning back into his seat, Ed hummed as he took a sip of the plum wine they had ordered. Next to him, even Falman appeared relaxed. One seat further down, Winry was having a very lively conversation with Hawkeye about something only women understood. The usually stoic Lieutenant had left her professionalism in the office and was not only dressed casually, but also visibly enjoying whatever she and Winry were discussing.

Sitting next to Hawkeye, Breda and Havoc had finally stopped tormenting Fuery, only because their victim was nearly passed out. The constant teasing had prompted the timid sergeant to drink a lot more than he might have planned. Currently, he was leaning against the seats cushions with closed eyes. For a moment Ed wondered if he had finally fallen asleep, but then his bleary brown eyes opened. Immediately, with no small amount of glee, his colleagues handed him another glass of wine, which the young sergeant stared at before carefully taking a sip. Carefully, because it appeared that he was having some difficulty finding his mouth. Ed was quite frankly surprised he had not yet spilled any of his drinks.

On Fuery's other side sat Danny Brosh, who was quite helpful in keeping him propped up. While not part of Mustang's team, Ed had been pleasantly surprised to find him and Maria Ross waiting at the restaurant for them. Between the two partners, Al was seated. The younger Elric was quietly talking to Ross while both of them occasionally cast covert glances around the table. Then, between Ross and Falman, was the one person whose gaze Ed found himself avoiding whenever he caught himself staring.

He was unbelievably relieved at the seating arrangements. Maria Ross was effectively, though unwittingly, preventing Al from talking privately to Mustang, for which Edward was grateful. He definitely did not want to know what might come out of that particular discussion. Edward himself was saved from having to interact with Mustang by Falman, who was only too happy to keep a polite and inconsequential conversation up with his commanding officer.

But as the evening slipped away, Edward knew his respite would not last much longer. Winry and Hawkeye were in their own little world. Fuery was too wasted to talk, and Breda and Havoc too occupied with making it worse. Denny was pretty much out of range on the other side of the table, and leaning in to talk to Al or Maria meant giving Mustang the opportunity to include himself into that discussion.

That left two discussions Ed did not want to join.

So he took another sip of the wine and indulged himself with some of the snacks the wait staff occasionally replenished for them.

He almost jumped when beside him, Falman rose to his feet and excused himself. Leaving the space between Edward and Mustang empty. Instantly, the Bastard slid over.

Damn. For a moment, the blond alchemist wondered if Mustang had ordered his subordinate to leave, but he could hardly blame Falman for needing to piss. Probably. Although…

"You´re not drunk, are you?" The older alchemist quietly asked as he leaned down so Ed would hear him. The blond looked down at his wine glass and contemplated just acting drunk.

Then he sighed. That wouldn't help the situation at all.

"No," he answered, and found himself wondering if that would have been a better course of action than staying sober.

His caught sight of Fuery trying to place his own index finger on the tip of his nose and failing miserable.

Or not.

"Good," Mustang said, and the man's slender fingers slipped around Ed's arm. "We need to talk."

He pulled Edward up, and the blond barely caught himself before he started to loudly protest the treatment. Attention was exactly what they _didn't_ need for this discussion. Ed quickly placed his glass on the table before he was dragged away, outside into the cold night air.

**Tbc.**

* * *

One more chapter and then this part of the 'verse is finished ^^ But since it will have to wait till January at least, I wish all of you a happy New Year! ^^

* * *

Guest: I guess this chapter answers your question :D This whole story is divided in a number of fics, so even when this fic is finished, it won´t be the end of the story ^^


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